Elaclea Electronic
by Mun Pai
Summary: Some stories are meant to be told. This one is from the heart. Luciola tells a journalist about the years he spent with Dio, the prince of the Guild. AU. Complete!
1. Prologue

Elaclea Electronic

(Hi everybody! This is my first Last Exile fic, and most of it will be from Luciola's point of view, just not little prologues and things like that. It's an alternate universe fic and will have some shonen-ai in it but nothing really…um…hardcore. XD; Also, this is not set in the normal Prestale we all know and love. It's a combination of that, and kind of a take off on Victorian-era England. Enjoy!)

Prologue

"So, Ms. Scher, may I ask why you want me to tell you about the Royal Family of the Guild?" Luciola, one of the few remaining natives of the Guild kingdom, asked the young, female journalist who sat across from him in a dark red armchair.

Dunya Scher, who wrote for the well known magazine, Disith National, shifted in the chair. She had not expected the fifty-five year old foreigner to ask her such a question, be so polite, or be so fluent in Disithian either. "Well, aren't you the only one left who knew them?" she asked.

Luciola nodded slowly, an unexplainable expression on his aged face. For a minute or so, he said nothing and simply gazed down at the carpet. He seemed to be sorting through all of the memories he had collected over the years. "That is true, I suppose…But what do you think I did for them?" he replied. While he was not unwilling to tell Dunya of his past, he was not sure yet if he should expose all the Elaclea family's secrets.

"I've only heard that you were a care taker of sorts…But I have always thought that you were maybe something…more than that." Dunya said shyly, glancing uneasily at him.

It was surprising to Luciola that she would be so straightforward. Since she spoke nothing but honesty, he assumed that he may do the same. His dark eyes examined Dunya's face; she was obviously nervous. "I will tell you only what I know I am. The Queen had a younger brother, who was not considered normal by the standards of the Guild. It was my duty to watch over him." He paused. "However, I was not just a 'caretaker,' as you called it. According to him, I was his only friend." Though his voice was calm, he had much turmoil in his heart and mind as these old memories resurfaced.

She did not expect him to say that. "I never knew that Queen Delphine had a brother! Then again, here in Disith, we're pretty alienated from other nations," she exclaimed. Now her interested was truly sparked; never in all her years as a journalist did she expect to discover something like that.

Luciola sighed; so, Dunya wanted to know the whole story, it seemed. Barely any Guilders were still alive, so he figured that the time had come finally to reveal all of those secrets that had been kept in the dark for so long. "Yes, Delphine did not want the public to know about Dio."

"Why is that?"

"Because Dio was so different from everyone else, that is why. Most Guilders were very disciplined and unemotional, like myself," he replied, "Dio, on the other hand, simply could not be disciplined, no matter who tried. It was not that he was stupid, although that is what those who knew him thought…He was incredibly stubborn. However, when I say 'stubborn,' it is some what of an understatement. You see, Dio had been diagnosed at a very young age with a serious brain problem. The doctors said that he would not live past eleven years or so, but…I suppose he was so stubborn, that he proved them wrong. That was well before I met him though." Luciola turned his gaze to a small picture frame that stood on a wooden desk.

Dunya looked over to it as well. It was a photograph of Luciola, who was much younger, and a young man who must have been Dio. Both of them wore white, traditional Guild wear and, while Luciola had the same, unreadable expression on his face, Dio had a great big smile on his. Dio's bright blue eyes held a mysterious light, as if he had some kind of wonderful secret.

She smiled. "The two of you must have been very close…Would you mind telling me more about him?" she inquired, hoping very much that he would. This was the story of a lifetime…and it was going to make her famous the world over.

Essence of a tiny smile flicked across his face. Luciola felt that this was his only chance to speak truthfully to someone who would not slander him. "I would very much like to tell you everything."

(end of the prologue! Please review!)


	2. The Palace

Elaclea Electronic

Chapter One: The Palace

(Hi again everybody! Thanks for the awesome reviews so far! The uber awesome three that there are! Whoo! So, um…yeah. This chapter is from Luciola's point of view, as will be most of the fic. That's about it for now! Enjoy the first chapter!)

As a Guilder of only twenty-two years, I had very little experience in the real world. This was why I was so incredibly nervous the day I went to the palace with my older brother, Cicada. Not many people had the opportunity to go there, so you can imagine how I felt, I suppose.

I glanced up at Cicada, who was much more severe than most of the other people I knew. He was not only severe in his personality, but in his appearance as well. He had long, cream colored hair that was always tied back in a black wrap. His eyelids were black, which was typical of most Guilders back then. Unlike most of us, he constantly dressed in black, which signified that he had an important position in the court, although he was actually a member of the Royal Guard.

"What are we coming here for, Cicada?" I asked him. He had not bothered to explain the reason and we were already walking up the huge staircase that led to the main entrance. I felt like my insides were squirming more and more with every step I took.

Cicada sighed, obviously irritated. "I am going on watch. You are going to your new job," he replied frankly.

In those days, we did not question our elders' actions, or their choices that they made for us. So whatever I was to be doing, there was no way I could argue it. Unfortunately, this just made me even more nervous, but I dared not show it in front of Cicada. Although we were brothers, he lived in a much harsher environment than I did. Instead of watching my brother as I had been, I took to staring down at my shoes instead.

Once we made it to the top of the stairs, my mind began creating scenarios of what might happen. I swallowed, trying to make the lump that had formed in my throat go away. Cicada was a few steps ahead of me, so I hastened my pace. He hated it when I lagged behind.

The double doors that had seemed huge from far away were actually so enormous it seemed that they could never be opened by our hands. I stared up at them, trying to take in everything. They were as dark as the midnight sky and the large handles were pure gold. I felt as though if I touched the handles, my soul would be taken away from me. Even now, I can not explain why I felt this way. Still, I knew that once I passed through those doors, my life would change forever. To be honest, I was not sure if I was ready for a change. I did not fancy the idea of having some dull occupation in the palace; I wanted to see the rest of the world.

Cicada shot me a strange look and pushed one of the doors open. Without a word, he entered, expecting me to follow. I hesitated for a second; I was still reluctant to enter. Before any more time went by, I gathered what courage I had and walked into the palace.

"Hurry up, Luciola." Cicada spat as he continued through the entry hall. I had no time to take in what there was to see of it. Something told me I would be seeing it enough later anyway. We hurried on through the entry hall and through two other rooms that were not as vast, but were still just as elegant. I had no idea why anyone would need such large rooms, especially when they were used for practically nothing. Royalty was as foreign to me then as is the Disith culture now.

Finally, Cicada stopped in front of a set of smaller, red doors. He waited for me to stop also before he said anything. "You are about to take up a very important role here, so do not do anything stupid," he told me, as if I was actually considering such a thing.

If I could of, I would have made some kind of sarcastic retort, but I knew better. "I won't," was all I said in reply.

Cicada frowned, which led me to believe that he did not trust what I said. Although he may have wanted to continue the "conversation," he remained silent and opened the doors, revealing the throne room. I followed him in and tried very hard to hide my amazement. Never had I been in a room so grand. The ceiling was incredibly high and all the walls and the floor were polished, white marble. The windows reached from the floor to the ceiling and were so clear it was as though the windows were not there at all. Compared to the other rooms I had already been in, this was like some kind of fantastic dream.

Then my eyes fell upon Delphine, the newly crowned queen of the Guild. I copied Cicada and bowed, lowering my eyes, so I really had not yet gotten a clear look at her. "You may rise," Delphine said. Her voice, to me then, sounded sweet and angelic. We did as she said and I took a good look at her. She stood up and left her red throne. To my surprise, she was tall; much taller than even Cicada. But then I noticed that she wore black shoes that added about six inches to her height. Her hair was pale grey and was swept up into a bun at the back of her neck. She wore a red headdress that was typical of Guilder royalty and a dark grey and black outfit that to this day I find hideous. Despite that, Delphine was a beautiful woman.

Cicada took a few steps forward. "Maestro, this is my brother, Luciola. He will fit your needs perfectly," he said. I felt embarrassed for some reason. It was more than likely because I did not know why I was there.

A charming smile formed on Delphine's purple lips. "How wonderful! Thank you, Cicada, you may leave," she said to him, not once even glancing in my direction.

My brother left without a word. Now I was even more confused than I had been earlier when Cicada told me that I was wanted at the palace for some unknown task. Somehow, I knew that my life was going to be even more different than I had ever imagined.

Delphine turned her attention to me after Cicada left, that smile still plastered on her face. "I suppose you are wondering why you are here, correct?" It was more of a statement than it was a question.

Now, before I go on, you must understand that I knew nothing of Dio's existence at that time. In fact, back then, only about a dozen people did. "Yes, I am." I said.

The queen's sweet smile turned devious. She came closer to me and took my hand, which I thought was strange. It was then that I noticed her fingernails were gold metal. It was my first time seeing anything like that. "I'll show you, then," she told me and led me to a door that was behind her throne.

Once again we hurried through various corridors, all of which I found to be quite useless. All the while, I could not stop guessing about what was happening. My first thought was that I would join the guard, like Cicada did years before. Really I would not have minded such a position, but then there was the fact that I enjoyed Cicada's company about as much as a door knob did.

Delphine slowed her pace as we came to a wide, glass window. Outside, I saw a lush garden full of roses. In fact, there were no other plants out there—just roses, and they covered absolutely everything. While it was beautiful, in a way, it was also strangely eerie.

"Roses are so lovely, aren't they?" she mused as we neared a set of clear glass doors. I began thinking that I had been hired as a gardener, which would have resulted in a total disaster.

I had no choice but to agree, as usual. "They are, Maestro." All the Guilders referred to Delphine in that name normally. Every ruler we had was called that. It had a saying that went along with it…

The Maestro conducts the country.

Later on in life, I came to realize its terrible meaning.

I opened the door and let Delphine enter the garden first, which was exactly what she wanted. Then, I followed her out. The scent of roses hung thick in the air. It was almost too much to handle at first. Delphine, on the other hand, was unaffected. I figured that she spent much of her time there.

A white haired figure was far off in the distance. It made me realize just how immense the garden really was. The stranger noticed us then, and began making his way toward us. I noticed that guards, although there were only two of them, followed him. As far as I knew, there were no other members of the Elaclea family left, so I guessed he was just another noble or something.

Delphine seemed quite pleased about something. Once the white haired boy was only a few feet away, she hurried to embrace him.

He looked as though he would rather be anywhere but there.

"Dio, you have been so good lately," Delphine said after she let go of him, "So I have brought you a new friend!" She turned and motioned at me.

I had never been in such an awkward situation in my entire life.

(end chapter one!!!)


	3. A Revelation

Elaclea Electronic

Chapter Two: A Revelation

(Hi! Thanks to you peoples who're keeping up with this. And thanks so much for all the wonderful comments!!! I appreciate them so much and it keeps me motivated to write more. hugs you all Sooo…Here's the next installment!)

In the Guild, we did not normally call people we knew "friends." When Delphine told this boy that was what I was, you can probably imagine how surprised I was. Also, I wondered how anyone could consider being a "friend" a job. I decided that the next time I saw Cicada, I would give him a talking to. This was all just too ridiculous.

On a side note, although I have been calling Dio a boy, he was actually sixteen years old when I first met him.

Without saying anything, he gave me a shy glance and then looked back at Delphine. "I hope he isn't as mean as the last one," he told her. For a moment I thought he might be her son, but then I remembered she was too young to have a son his age.

The Maestro let out an irritated sigh. "Don't be so ungrateful! He had been looking forward to meeting you." Delphine told him and pushed him toward me. Although she had seemed so pleasant earlier, now she just seemed impatient and annoyed.

While Dio examined me, I did the same to him. He was thin, pale, and shorter than me by a few inches. His eyes were light blue, just like the sky, and his white hair was just below his chin, except for his bangs which went straight across his forehead, and a long strip that hung past the left side of his face. He wore a perfectly white outfit and had gold painted around his eyes and in a vertical eye on his forehead. I thought he was the most perfect being in the Guild, looks-wise, even more so than Delphine. I had no clue as to what he thought of me.

"What's your name?" he asked. It was amazing how shy he was at first and then became so bright and happy later on.

"I am Luciola, sir."

"That's a nice name. So, Delphine said you already know about me! All the others didn't have a clue." Dio said, walking around me in a circle. Delphine did not take her eyes off of him once. I kept wondering who he actually was, for that had not yet been revealed to me.

An enigmatic grin formed on Delphine's lips. "Dio, you should take your new friend and introduce him to the doctor," she said, "You remember which one, right? Doctor Ressius." She began to head back to the palace after that, the two guards that had been with Dio were now following her.

I stared at him and he stared back. It was a strange moment. Hundreds of thoughts ran through my head, and I am sure that the same went for Dio, although at least he knew what was going on.

Once Delphine was out of hearing range, Dio grinned. "Ressius isn't going anywhere any time soon. Let's go somewhere else today," he said and immediately began walking back the direction he had come. He kept glancing over his shoulder at me as I followed. "So…Why did you want to come here? Wouldn't you rather be somewhere else?"

For once I was truly at a loss as to what to say. This boy had no idea that I had no idea why I came to the palace. My mind churned, trying to come up with a decent response. "To be entirely honest, I had no say in the matter." At least this way, I did not have to reveal my ignorance.

Dio stopped in the middle of the pathway and frowned. He was working out what I said as if it were an arithmetic problem. "That's not fair! How come you don't get to decide what you do?" he questioned, stepping closer to me. Of all the things for a Guilder noble to ask me, this was the strangest. Due to the fact that I did not know of his ignorance to the normal world, this puzzled me to no end.

Now it was my turn to think. I did not wish to offend him, but I did not know how to reply, once again. "Well, sir, people of my status do not have a choice in what we do." I finally said.

With a shrug, he turned on his heel and continued walking through the garden. "I don't get to do anything either. Delphine's only let me leave this place a few times." Dio sighed. The way he spoke about Delphine led me to believe that he had absolutely no respect for her. Perhaps he just had a big ego, I had thought then. In reality, there was much more to the story than I was aware of.

I could not stand it any longer; I had to find out who he really was. If he became angry with me for asking, then it would just be too bad. I did not like being kept in the dark. "If you will permit me to ask, sir…What is your relation to the Maestro?" I asked, my curiosity intensifying.

The silence that immediately followed was overwhelming. Dio did not make any sort of response. His pace quickened, as did mine, for I still wanted an answer. Before I knew it, we reached a wall that seemed to be entirely made of roses. He halted and gave me an angry, yet sad, stare. "I should have known you didn't really know who I am. Delphine always lies."

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. No one ever talked about her that way.

"Oh well. It doesn't matter," he decided, "All right, well, the truth is; I'm Delphine's brother." He was very reluctant to reveal this to me, as if it was a terrible secret he had hidden from a close friend.

Naturally, I was shocked. In fact, I can not even begin to describe the emotions that went through me upon hearing this revelation. Although I wanted to say something in reply, no words would come to me. I was dumbfounded, and all I did was stare at the younger Guilder in disbelief. Yes, it was very rude of me to do so, but try putting yourself in the situation.

A few moments passed, and then I realized how ridiculous I felt. "I am sorry, sir. I had no idea!" I thought this was the best thing to say, who knows why.

Instead of being angry, Dio laughed loudly. He was the first person I ever heard do such a thing. That day was full of many firsts, I suppose. "What're you apologizing for? You can't do anything about that!" He paused and eyed me strangely. "I like you, Luciola. I hope you stick around for a long time."

"As do I, sir."

(sorry for the shortness of the chapter. Oh well. Next one is longer! Also, please don't forget that Luciola is telling all this to Dunya, so when he says things like "you would understand" or something, it is to her. )


	4. Doctor Ressius

Elaclea Electronic

Chapter Three: Doctor Ressius

(Hi, everyone! It's taken me a while to get to be able to update, but here I am! ; Anyway, here is the next chapter…And also, I even had to do some medical reading for this fic. Oo; First one I've had to do that for, but I don't mind, because I definitely want this to be good! lol…So, enjoy!)

My prediction was correct; my life was completely different now. It was definitely not a bad change, though. I truly did enjoy Dio's company, as odd as he was. We did not see Delphine for the rest of the day and we had not bothered to go to see the doctor yet either. Dio told me that we would go and see him soon because he (as in the doctor) was a very important person; more so than his sister.

As I laid down to sleep that night, I realized there were still questions I had that were unanswered. There was still plenty of time to find them out, of course.

The next morning, I woke to the sound of Dio's voice outside my door. As fast as I could, I got out of bed and dressed. Dio was banging on the door and singing some silly song of his own invention. I opened the door and was about to say good morning, but Dio ran toward me and gave me a tight embrace. "G'morning, Luciola!" he chimed happily.

Dio and I did not live in the palace at that time. Instead, the two of us lived in a small house that was behind the rose garden. The house was located right behind the wall I mentioned earlier. Already it was obvious that Delphine wanted Dio kept away from strangers at all times. I assumed that once we went to see the doctor, I would find out why.

"Good morning, sir." I said as he released me.

The young prince grinned and left my room. I followed him, as usual. "We're gonna go see Ressius today. You'll like him. He's much nicer than Delphine." As he said his sister's name, he made a disgusted face. I was glad that no guards were permitted in the house; otherwise, Dio would be in more trouble than he would know what to do with.

For some reason, I felt relieved that we were going to meet him. Perhaps it was because I would finally have my questions answered. Of course, there was the possibility that Ressius would not be willing to tell the truth. "I'm sure he is." I said as we exited the house. I opened the secret door in the wall that led to the garden and let Dio through first. I went through and closed the door behind me. The garden seemed much more impressive from this angle, especially with the palace in the distance. I could hardly take it all in. Not that I had any time to, for Dio was already several feet ahead of me. I hurried to catch up with him, for if I did not stay with him, I knew that I would get lost.

We reached the glass doors to the palace; Dio was being much quieter now. He did not want to attract any attention from guards that might be around. "I bet Ressius'll have a lot of stuff to tell you. Every time someone new shows up, he blabbers for hours and hours…and he doesn't let me hear any of it," he whispered and went into the palace. We walked to a door I had not noticed the day before. I began to think that the palace was much bigger than I had originally thought. It was not much of a surprise though; Guilders had a habit of trying to fool people into thinking the wrong thing upon first glance and later revealing their true colors.

The door led to a narrow corridor which was lined with six doors on each side. At the end of the corridor was a set of double doors. All in all, the corridor itself seemed somewhat foreboding. It was dimly lit by lights hanging down from the ceiling. A chill trickled down my spine as we walked to the end of the hall. Dio smiled at me and opened one of the double doors. I could hardly see what was inside because it was so dark.

"Ressius is expecting us." Dio said and strode through the doorway. How the doctor knew we were coming was beyond me; in the house we lived in, there was no way we could have communicated with people in the palace. My first thought was that perhaps certain Guilders had telepathic powers. However, I could not have been father from the truth; Dio actually went to see Ressius once a month for checkups. Looking back on this, I realize now how silly my first guess was.

Before I went in, I glanced over my shoulder, for I thought I heard someone in one of the other rooms. My thoughts were never confirmed though, because Dio came back out and pulled me into the room. It definitely resembled a doctor's clinic; the expansive room was extremely clean and smelled heavily of sterilizer. Off to the left were shelves upon shelves of medicines and examination tools. On the right side was an examination table. In the back of the room, was a door, which I assumed was where Ressius waited for us.

Dio ran over to the shelves. "Once I knocked all this stuff onto the floor and Ressius got really mad. I thought it was funny…" he informed me. I wondered how long ago that happened. With Dio, it could have been just days before I met him. He had random outbursts like that quite often.

The door in the back opened, and Doctor Ressius came out, a kind smile on his old face. At that time, Ressius was sixty-three and looked very healthy for his age. Like most of us, he wore white and black and had a small, vertical eye tattooed on his forehead. The strangest thing about him was that he had a fuzzy beard and a mustache. Facial hair was not something most men had in the Guild. This led me to believe that he had some foreign blood in him. His grandfather, I later discovered, was from Anatoray, which explained it.

Ressius gave me a scrutinizing look as he came closer. It was as if he was giving me some kind of examination already. "So, you're the new guy, eh?" he asked me. His voice was much deeper than a normal Guilder male's.

I nodded. "I am. My name is Luciola." My voice sounded like a child's in comparison to his. I certainly felt like one in his presence as well.

Dio had already grown bored with us. He was fiddling with a small lamp on the shelf. I watched him for a moment, but it seemed that he was not up to any mischief.

The doctor cleared his throat, which for some reason, got Dio's immediate attention. "Why don't you go in the other room, Dio? I have—"

"I know, I know," he imitated Ressius's voice, "'I have some things I must discuss with Luciola.'" With that, Dio went into the room that Ressius had just exited.

After the door closed, the doctor sighed. "He can be a handful sometimes, but he certainly is a wonderful boy…Much nicer than his sister." Ressius mused, his dark eyes staring off into the distance. Not a second later, he looked at me, his kindness replaced with a strange intensity.

It was so odd that both Dio and Ressius disliked the Maestro. Of course, I did not know that they actually had incredibly good reasons backing up their feelings.

"First of all, I'm sure that Dio has already told you that the Maestro is his older sister." Ressius began, "I know that was probably a huge shock to you. But you must be wondering why he has been kept from the public…Am I right?"

"You are, Doctor."

"The Maestro's mother, the late Maestro Deila, did not want the public knowing about Dio when she found out about his illnesses…You see, when Dio was only two years old, we ran tests on him because he was not developing at the correct speed. Our test results stated that Dio would never be fully capable, which he is not, and that his brain cannot stay focused on a single thing for very long. However, there is more," he explained.

It felt as though the bright room had suddenly become much darker.

(Whee! XD You'll find out more in the next chapter!


	5. Time Passes

Elaclea Electronic

Chapter Four: Time Passes

(Whoa, it's been a while since my last update, and I see the last chapter ended with a cliffhanger! ; Sorry!! I've been writing so much that now I have two chapters ready to be posted! Oh, by the way, this is an alternate universe fic, for those of you who do not know…So it does not go along with the actual plot of Last Exile AT ALL. Meaning that Luciola could have his name before he met Dio. Anywho, hope everybody had a good x-mas/ whatever else. I know I did. XD Now, ON WITH THE FIC!!!)

To think that Ressius still had more bad news to tell me about Dio was enough to make my head spin. Although Dio certainly had not seemed normal upon our first meeting, now I was seeing him in a much different light. Honestly, I did not want to hear anymore of what he had to say, but I knew that I had to know what was wrong with him since I was going to be around him so much.

Ressius also seemed as though he did not want to go on. He probably had to explain Dio's condition dozens of times before. I felt guilty about making him repeat it again. "I hope this does not make you think any differently of Dio," the doctor said, "But anyway, I may as well just hurry up and tell you." I was glad that he did not want to dwell on the subject because I certainly did not want to either.

"When Dio was a child, I noticed that he would laugh or cry at very random intervals. Also, he often chewed on his lower lip and had other strange habits like that. At first, I thought these things would stop as he grew older, but they did not…The strangest thing was that when someone asked him why he was laughing or crying, he was not even aware that he was doing it."

This was even more surprising than anything I had heard in the past few days. I did not want to believe what Ressius was telling me. Although he paused for me to ask questions, I could think of nothing.

"Since no doctors here in the Guild could actually diagnose Dio's problem, we secretly took him to Anatoray and met with the best doctors there. They told us that he had something called temporal epilepsy. It was discovered by a doctor in north Anatoray. You see, the disease is caused by a problem in communication between the brain's nerve cells. Normally, such cells communicate with one another by sending electrical signals back and forth. In someone like Dio, the signals from one group of nerve cells occasionally become too strong; so strong that they overwhelm neighboring parts of the brain. It is this sudden, excessive electrical discharge that causes the basic symptoms of epilepsy, which is called an epileptic seizure. That is what is happening in his brain, and is a vague explanation for his emotional outbursts. However, he sometimes has fits of grand mal epilepsy, meaning that he actually has a full body seizure. That has only happened a few times in his life, though.

"While we have medicine that keeps his seizures at a minimum, it does not always keep his emotions at bay. Normally, he remembers to take it on his own, but when he forgets, you must be ready; Dio can get fairly violent."

I did not know how to react. It did not make me think of him any differently, for I was still forming an opinion of him. Even if I had wanted to say something, my mind was completely blank.

After that, Ressius went on to tell me about what the medicines did and such, but I could hardly recall all that now. Dio had been right; he really did take hours to explain things. When he finally announced that he had nothing more to say, I figured my turn had come. "So, do you think there will ever be a complete cure available?" I questioned, desperately wanting some hope to hold on to. I thought it was incredibly unfair that Dio had to suffer so much while the rest of us suffered so little.

Ressius gave me a grave look. "At the moment there is no cure. However, I recently heard that in Anatoray, they are developing something. If that works, I will be sure that Dio gets the treatment right away," he replied.

After that, Ressius told me that it was my turn to wait in his office while he gave Dio his monthly check up. Right as I went in, Dio's head popped up from behind the doctor's desk. He grinned and stood up. "What's the matter, Luciola? You look like you've just seen a ghost," he asked, a curious expression forming on his face.

How could I explain how I was feeling? Although I had not known Dio very long, I already thought he and I were fairly close, and so when Ressius revealed all that to me, it was like a blow to the chest. Never in my life had I experienced such feelings for another person.

Before I could blink, Dio's face was only an inch away from mine. His eyes seemed almost opaque at this distance. "Hey, Luciola! Anybody home?" he teased, waving his hands in front of me.

I snapped back into reality and immediately felt embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking about something." I did not think it sounded like a good reason for me to not have been paying attention to him, but, apparently, it was good enough for Dio. He simply shrugged and walked out, leaving me alone. I could not help but think that he was oblivious to his condition. He was so happy and carefree, after all.

The cure that Ressius spoke of was impossible to think of. I had no idea how anyone could fix a problem as serious as that.

Of course, I could not even imagine all the awful possibilities.

As the days went on and we became better acquainted, I began to realize that I enjoyed being around Dio more than anyone else. He and I had similar views on many subjects, despite our major differences in personalities. Still, I felt more and more close to him with each passing moment. However, I had no way of knowing how he felt toward me, and I certainly was not going to inquire. I did very much want to know, but it was not in my nature to pry.

During our first few weeks together, we saw little of Delphine. Occasionally, we would meet her in the garden, but most of the time, she would not even acknowledge us. I started thinking that she did not think too highly of her brother.

Thankfully, Dio had not yet had any outbursts, but I know that one would happen eventually.

Half a month passed, in which very little occurred. Of course, nothing ever stays the same, and so it would figure that when nobles from Anatoray arrived, things began to tumble down hill. You may have heard that my country and Anatoray waged war against one another several years ago. That war ended five years before I met Dio. I never would have thought that we would be having peace conferences with them so soon after both countries had been devastated.

The night before they were to arrive, the Maestro called us to her private quarters. Just as I had expected, her rooms were more extravagant than the rest of the palace. Honestly, I was becoming somewhat sick of all the unnecessary beauty around me. It made me realize that although Delphine was our leader, she did not care much for her subjects, because thousands had been left without homes and food after the war. My family, however, was one of the luckier ones.

I followed Dio as he stomped past an enormous fish tank, which had the strangest species of animals I ever saw. Obviously, Dio was not looking forward to talking to his sister, but he had no say in the matter. While I knew that he disliked Delphine because she kept him confined to certain areas of the palace, I still did not know the while story. Dio did not seem too eager to reveal it to me yet either.

Delphine welcomed us into a small (I use the word very lightly here) room which I assumed was some kind of reception room. The same smile I had seen her wear upon our first meeting was there once again. This time, however, it did not look as sweet. She ignored me, which I was quite used to, and went straight to Dio. "I haven't seen you in such a long time, Dio!" she cried, pulling him into a tight embrace. Her voice almost held a fake quality of sweetness in it. She was not so nice to Dio when I was not around.

Dio balled his hands into fists, which was a habit he did when angry or annoyed. He had his back to me, but I knew that he was probably frowning and rolling his eyes. Delphine, of all people, should have known that he hated receiving hugs; he liked giving them…but certainly not to her.

The Maestro released him and shot me a quick glance. "You, your name is Luciola, correct?" she snapped.

"Yes, Maestro." Delphine was not good with names.

"I thought so. When the Anatoray nobles arrive, I want you to keep Dio away from them at all times," she stated, "Do you understand?" While she had been acting like I was not in the room only moments ago, now, she was treating Dio that way.

The way she spoke of her brother reminded me of a warden talking about a prisoner. "I understand." I replied, although I, myself, wanted to at least get a glimpse of them. I had never seen foreigners before.

Curiosity killed the cat, I suppose.

(Ch 4 end! ; Guess it's sort of another cliff hanger. I have a habit of doing that…Oh well. I'll be putting the next one up verrry soon!)


	6. Aura

Elaclea Electronic

Chapter Five: Aura

(Well I started typing this on my other computer, but the mouse died…and I didn't want to keep you guys waiting, so I'm typing it again on this one. XD I just read rikufanatic's "Life in the Clouds" today, and that's a really good fic! Anyway, I was thinking about writing a side story to go along with this about Alex Rowe, although he's not an important character in this story, I do love him a lot, and I'd like to write something about him. Would anyone be interested? XD Also, since I'm a lonely dork, my aim is AmourMana if anyone's looking for a role-play buddy or something. NOW ON WITH THE FIC!!!)

The next morning I made sure that I woke up before Dio. Although the nobles were scheduled to arrive after noon, Delphine informed us that they would be making preparations, so we had to remain in our little house. At least I did not have to chase the prince all over the palace grounds like I normally had to.

Dio came out of his room, still in his white sleeping robe. He had a big smile on his face as he sat down next to me on the red sofa, which was one of the few pieces of furniture in the house. "Guess what I saw last night?" he asked me, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

I gave him an oblivious look. I thought he was going to tell me about some dream he had last night. "Sir, I don't have any idea." I said, "What did you see?" With Dio, it could have been anything.

He laughed softly and twiddled his thumbs. "I saw my sister and your brother doing something," he said, staring at me. Had he left the house last night? If that was the case, I prayed that no one saw him.

Now he really had my attention. I had not heard from or seen Cicada since the day he left me with the Maestro. "What were they doing?" I asked, wanting very much to know. Of course, I had no idea he was going to show me instead of just tell me.

"This!" he exclaimed, and leapt on top of me. Naturally, I was so surprised that as he touched his sweet lips to mine, I did not deny him. Shock turned into pleasure but I dared not show Dio that I enjoyed it. If anyone saw us like this, then I would never be allowed near him again. It seemed like eternity passed before Dio rolled off the sofa and onto the floor, giggling all the while.

My face reddened with embarrassment as I sat up. I could feel Dio's eyes on me, burning into me. Did he expect me to make some kind of comment?

Suddenly, realization struck me like a swift slap to the face…Dio had seen Delphine and Cicada, of all people, doing that. If word of that got out, then, surely, my brother would be dealt a terrible fate; sexual intercourse before marriage was a crime in the Guild, although how that law was enforced is beyond me. Such a thing between a noble, especially the Maestro, and a guard would definitely result in the death of the latter. Although I was not that close to Cicada, I certainly did not wish death upon him.

The prince continued to stare at me. "Luciola, what's wrong?" he inquired, a worried tone in his voice. He scooted back toward me, looking much like a young child.

I nodded slowly. "I'm fine…that was just…very unexpected, that is all." I lied. I wondered if he had enjoyed that fleeting moment as much as I did. Despite his childish demeanor, however, he was an expert at hiding his true thoughts and emotions when he wanted to.

Dio stood up and smiled. "You have to be on your toes!" he instructed and stood on the balls of his feet. Before I could reply, he tiptoed back into his room. He was acting much stranger than he normally did…that should have been my first signal that something was about to happen.

Believe it or not, nothing happened at all that day. We simply remained in the house and spoke very little to each other. It was that night, when something terrible occurred. I went back into my room for a moment, I do not remember why, and when I came back, Dio was gone. The front door was open; he could not have gotten far yet. I sighed and ran out after him, so much for having a calm night. Right as I entered the garden, I spotted him. He ran toward the palace, apparently unaware that I was following him. Strangely, no guards were in the garden that night, so I would have to catch him by myself.

Dio ran all the way to the glass doors and stopped. He turned and smiled at me, although his expressions were hard to make out in the darkness. "I know you want to see the foreigners just as bad as I do, Luciola," he said in a hoarse whisper, "So let's sneak in. We'll just take a quick glance." He reached for the doorknob, but I grabbed his hand.

"The Maestro told us not to go in there—" Why I was going along with what she said, I will never know. I just wish that Dio had as well.

Before I could finish what I had to say, he backhanded me across my face. It was even more of a surprise than when he kissed me that morning. Physically, it did not hurt much, but the pain it caused me inside would have been enough to leave a red mark. "How dare you side with Delphine!" Dio shouted, "I thought you were my friend!" His words stung like venom.

As he opened the door, I figured out what I had to say. "I am…I just do not want you to get hurt." I said as he went inside. There was so much more that I desperately wanted to tell him, but there was no way I could.

For a moment, he did not move. Once he finally looked at me, a small smile, tinged with sadness, formed in place of the angry scowl he wore only seconds ago. He said nothing, though I had expected him to. Despite the Maestro's orders, the two of us continued to a door that led to a high, steep set of stairs. "This'll take us to a balcony so we can spy on them!" he exclaimed and began running up the stairs.

A nervous pit grew in my stomach as I followed him. I hoped that we did not get caught. It seemed like forever until we reached the top. Finally, we entered the balcony and stayed low to the floor. I heard voices speaking in Anatorayan. Back then; I could speak little of their language, so I could not understand any of what they said. An interpreter translated and soon afterward, Delphine's voice rang out. They were speaking of forming an alliance. Very unexpected. Dio motioned for me to peek over the wall first. Hesitantly, I did so. All of them sat at a long, white table. Delphine, of course, was at the head of it. To her right were the Empress Sophia and six other Anatoray nobles. To her left were other Guild nobles whose names I cannot recall.

Empress Sophia was quite a sight. She had long, dark brown hair that was hidden in a strange, white headdress and wore a dress the color of oranges. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. Compared to Delphine, she looked like a porcelain doll. The other foreigners were all older men and to me, they all looked the same. Although, I suppose that we Guilders look the same to everyone else. One of the Empress's guards caught my eye though; a tall, black haired man whose name I discovered was Alex Rowe. I am sure that you have heard all about him.

I crept back over to Dio. "No one noticed me…Just be careful." I warned, hoping he would not take it the wrong way. If I could relive this moment, I would have told him not to look, but there was no way I could have foreseen what was about to happen.

Dio looked over the railing and was completely still for almost a minute. He uttered the word "orange" a few times, each time louder than the last and started rocking back and forth. I touched his shoulder and told him to calm down, but it was no use. He gave a violent twitch and let out a bloodcurdling scream. He fell onto his back and began to shake as if he were being electrocuted. It was a seizure.

I stood up to help him, and immediately heard the Maestro's voice. "Luciola, what do you think you are doing?! Get him out of here at once!" She sounded exactly as Dio had when he yelled at me earlier. I could also tell that she was not the least bit concerned about him.

By the time she said that, the seizure ended. Dio simply lay on the floor, as if in a trance. Effortlessly, I picked him up and carried him right to Ressius's office. My mind was numb with worry. The doctor had informed me that he only had seizures like that a few times in his life. Although I had not been expecting that, I remembered what Dio said earlier that day…I had to be on my toes.


	7. Waiting

Elaclea Electronic

Chapter Six: Waiting

(I've been busy with school and stuff, but the new chapter is ready, finally. XD But before we get on with it, I've got a little message I'd like to send to a person named Windstar…

THIS FIC IS AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE FIC. I HOPE YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THAT. This does not go along with the plot of LE IN ANY WAY! I thought I already made that clear. Also, I never mentioned anything about Dio having ADD. In this FICTION he had temporal epilepsy and another form, called grand mal. And I have taken liberty with their ages, meaning that I can make any of them as old or as young as I want…because it is AU. AU AU AU!!!!!! So, people can't flame you, but you can flame them? I think there's an appropriate word for that…Hm, oh yeah, it's hypocrite. I'm sorry that you're sad that bad stuff is happening to Dio, but bad stuff happened to him in the series too. Oh, and just so you know, it's going to get a lot worse.

Ok, I'm done. /**hugs all the rest of her awesome readers**/ You guys are cool. And I don't mind constructive criticism, but when you're just going to mindlessly write crap about each chapter, think twice.)

I knocked on the door as loud as I could; Ressius had locked them because he probably figured that no one would be coming by that night. With Dio in my arms, it was a difficult task , but finally, the door opened. The doctor took one quick glance at Dio and I, and allowed us inside. He shook his head slowly as he switched on all the lights. "Something told me that this would happen. Put him on the bed over there," he instructed, his voice monotone. I did as I was told and then moved out of his way. I wanted to stay with Dio and make sure that he was all right, but Ressius told me to leave and come back in the morning.

My mind felt numb as I walked back to our little house. Both of us had been seen by the Maestro and all those nobles; now I knew that my days were numbered. Although I more than likely would not face execution, I would surely be punished. What that punishment would be, I had no way of determining.

Right as I reached the middle of the garden, I heard someone behind me. I turned, only to reveal Cicada, an angry expression on his face. There was no doubt in my mind that he already knew what happened. "So, you and Dio decided to go and spy on the meeting," he said, his piercing gaze was somewhat intimidating.

"We did." I agreed. Although we had been careful, there was no real way that we could control the fact that Dio had a seizure. Now, both of us would have to face the consequences of our actions.

Cicada let out an irritated sigh. "I'm aware of that. The Maestro is furious with both you, and the prince. Luciola, how can you be so stupid?" he asked, shaking his head. At least he was not as angry as I thought he would be…yet. With Cicada, one could never actually be sure what he was feeling. His face was an empty mask at almost all times.

I was not sure what to say, but then I decided that silence would be better. If I did bother trying to defend my actions, it would just make everything worse. At the moment, I was glad that I was not facing the Maestro instead of Cicada. She would definitely be more severe. I knew that Dio and I would face her eventually.

Although I could not think of anything to say, Cicada ended the conversation and simply walked away. I wished that I could figure out a way to solve all the problems that formed in the past few hours.

It is safe to say that I was unable to sleep a wink that night. I could not stop thinking about what might become of the prince and I. Dio may just not be allowed at all, but as for my own fate, I was not sure. As soon as I left the house the next morning, I realized that all I truly wanted to know about, was what Dio's condition was now.

The garden was empty, once again. It was strange that no one was ever there, considering what a beautiful place it was. As I neared the entrance to the palace, I wondered if the foreigners were still there. Delphine had not said how long they would be staying, and so due to the fact that traveling took quite a long time, I assumed they may stay for weeks. Dio was probably not going to be pleased about that.

My thoughts turned to him as I opened the door. Yes, I did feel close to him, but what would our relationship become? Although I originally thought I might be in love, perhaps those feelings simply were fascination. Since he and I had spent so much time together, this was a perfectly plausible idea. While we had been together so much, we still had not revealed all our secrets and such to one another. Like all relationships, ours would take a little time to completely form. Of course, this was perfectly fine with me, but then there was the fact that I may be forced to leave because of the previous night's events.

Before my thoughts could wander any further, I heard a bright, happy voice that was all too familiar. "Luciola!" the prince exclaimed, running toward me, "I wondered where you were." Once he was close, he stopped, a wide smile was on his pale face.

"Are you all right now, sir?" I could not stop myself; I had to know. The only problem was that Dio may decide to not be entirely honest with me. While he never actually lied, he liked to skirt around the true facts as much as possible. In some ways, he was more like his sister than he realized.

Dio shrugged and brushed strands of his hair away from his face. "I'm as fine as I'll ever be," he replied, "What about you?" It was a vague answer, but it was better than nothing.

I must admit that this question took me by surprise. I definitely had not expected that. "I'm fine, sir. I was worried about you, though." I told him as we retreated back into the garden. Honesty had become almost a second nature to me during my childhood. I had never been proficient at lying, so when I tried, it resulted in punishment from my parents.

Now it was Dio's turn to be surprised. His wide eyes explored my face, as if he was searching for something. He obviously wanted to tell me something, but he hesitated. "Oh…Well, there's really no point in that," he mumbled, nervously. He seemed to understand why I had been worried though, so that was a bit of a relief.

The conversation ended with that. We walked all the back to the house in silence. It was peaceful, despite everything that I had thought about earlier. I welcomed the relief, however momentary it was.

Late that afternoon, Dio began to get a little restless. "I hate doing nothing!" he informed me as he paced back and forth, "Why don't we go out? Or, are those people still here?" He crossed his arms and gave me an inquiring glance.

I shrugged. "I'm pretty sure that they haven't left yet…If you'll stay here, I'll go and see." I said, eager for a few moments alone. I wanted to sort some things out, not that it would give me much time. Still, if I could be alone, I might be able to find a solution to our problems. None of which were going to be easy to solve, unfortunately.

Before I could leave, Dio tapped my shoulder. "Oh, I almost forgot, Ressius wants to talk to you. I don't know why," he said.

I could not help but feel worried.

(Yeah, this chapter was boring, huh? Sorry! Next chapter things will really start to get interesting though! XD)


	8. The Procedure

Elaclea Electronic

Chapter Seven: The Procedure

(School has been keeping me very busy, but somehow I still find time for this. XD Anyway, here's the next chapter!)

Because of the fact that Ressius wanted to speak with me, I could not manage to keep my thoughts away from what he might say. I was unable to accomplish any of the things that I had hoped to. As calmly as I could manage, I walked through the dank corridor that led to his rooms. I wished that I had some way of knowing what he was going to tell me.

The doors were unlocked, so I let myself in. I had a feeling that the old doctor would not mind. As usual, the room was brightly lit and sparkling clean. Ressius did all the cleaning himself, I later discovered. He had plenty of time to do so, after all.

The doctor stood at the counter, hunched over a couple of strange tools I did not recognize. "I suppose Dio gave you the message," he mused, turning toward me. How odd it was, to see that his right eye had been blackened and that he wore a bandage patch on his forehead. He was the last person I would have expected to put himself in danger…

"What happened to you, Doctor?" I blurted out. I had not meant to, but the words came out before I could stop them.

Ressius gave me a grim smile. "I told you Dio could be violent some times. Last night was one of those times," he replied, stepping past me and closing the doors. Besides the black eye and the slight head wound, he acted fine. However, to learn that Dio had done those things to him came as quite a shock. Ressius had told me about that the day I met him, though. I suppose I should have remembered such a thing.

He did not allow me to ask any more questions about it. "I did not ask you to come here to talk about me," he began, "I wanted to tell you about what I learned from an Anatorayan doctor who accompanied the Empress." Ressius motioned for me to follow him into his office, which I did.

Was he going to tell me that the Anatorayans found a cure? My heart swelled with hope and the world suddenly became much brighter. I wanted very much for him to go on, so that he could prove me right. "I see," was all I said, trying not to show my excitement.

Ressius sat down on a stiff, black chair and rubbed his forehead, obviously tired. "While the cure isn't exactly to my liking, it will help…Unfortunately, no one is sure what the side effects will be," he explained, "Either way, I am willing to put Dio in the Anatorayans' hands." A slight tone of apprehension lay in his voice, which led me to believe that this cure he spoke of was not all that safe.

My mouth was oddly dry, which made it hard to speak. I glanced down at me feet, wondering if Ressius would actually tell me what would be happening to the prince. "So, Doctor, what will they do to him?" I asked.

The doctor frowned and certainly did not answer right away. During the silence that followed, my mind was completely blank. He seemed as though he was trying to think of a decent way to word it. Of course, he was trying to make it sound better than it was. "The operation is actually quite simple. Only a tiny portion of his brain will be removed. The Anatorayans say that it will be a quick procedure. I hope they are right."

Immediately upon hearing that, I decided that it definitely did not sound that safe. After all, if Dio only had serious seizures a few times in his life and there was medicine that helped, what was the point in taking such drastic measures?

"Does Dio know about this yet?"

"No; we figured it would be better not to tell him until later. That was not my choice, however."

"Whose was it?"

"The Maestro's." Of course Delphine had made such a foolish decision. She did not care how her brother felt about anything. As you know, most of the time, she acted as though he did not even exist. It would make no difference to her whether he went through the procedure or not, or so I thought. Maybe she would not even notice if he ran away…

Before I left, I had one more question for the doctor. "Just how much of his brain will actually be removed?" While it was rude of me to ask this, I figured that he would understand why I wanted to know.

Ressius sighed and adjusted his silver rimmed glasses. Although he was reluctant to say, he told me anyway. "The entire frontal lobe." So, he had lied; that certainly was not a tiny part. Why had he tried to cover up that fact?

I thanked Ressius for telling me everything and quickly excused myself. While I did not know much on how the brain worked, I knew that if Dio did participate, he would not be the same person afterward. A nervous lump formed in my throat as I ran back to our house. I had to stop this from happening, but I had no clue how to do it. Of course, there was no way I could convince the Maestro to change her mind. She was a stubborn woman.

Dio was waiting for me in the living room, an impatient frown on his face. Once he saw me, he jumped up and smiled. "Welcome back! Did you talk to Ressius?" he chimed, skipping over to me.

Just looking at him made me think of how terrible that operation was going to be. Although I did not know exactly what effects on him it would have, I got the feeling that it might affect his personality. "Yes, I did…" I said slowly, trying to decide if I should tell him or not.

The prince made a circular motion with his hand, obviously wanting me to continue. I chose simply to stay away from the actual conversation.

"Ressius just wanted some information about what happened last night, that's all." I said, hoping he would believe me. I am sure that you will remember that I am a terrible liar.

Luck was on my side; Dio believed me. He shrugged and flopped back down on the couch. "Hey, sit down next to me," he said, patting the spot next to him. Now it seemed that he had a subject that he wanted to discuss.

I took the spot next to him and waited for him to speak. Minutes passed, neither of us said anything. My mind was too busy trying to come up with a way to stop the doctors from taking Dio away. Meanwhile, the prince just stared at me. For some reason, I felt a little uneasy under his prying eyes.

'Why should I feel nervous or uneasy around him?' I wondered. But then, perhaps it was not nervousness at all.

Exhaustion struck me right as I fell onto my bed. I slept deeply for about three hours, only to awaken at about four in the morning with a crazy scheme in my head. As fast as I could, I dressed and hurried to Dio's room.

This could not wait.

I knocked on the door until he opened it, rubbing his eyes. "What is it, Luciola?" he mumbled.

"Sir, I'm sorry to have woken you, but I have to speak with you right now," I said as he plodded out of his room.

Dio shot me an incredulous look. "What in the world is so important?" he asked.

"We have to run away. You're not safe here anymore." I had no choice but to phrase it that way.

(Haha cliff hanger!! XD)


	9. The Corridor

Elaclea Electronic

Chapter Eight: The Corridor

(School has been keeping me busy, but not busy enough to delay fan fiction writing! Bwahahaha! By the way, I'm writing another LE fic, which is also on called "Perpetual Motion Machine," please check it out! Anyway, here's the next chapter!)

Dio did not react how I had expected him to. I thought he would ask why and not understand even when I explained. Instead, he laughed nervously and said, "Sometimes you make me laugh so much! Is this some kind of a game?" Despite his laughter, I knew that now, he really was scared. His eyes gave it away.

I knew that I had to be as honest as I possibly could. "No, this is not a game. Ressius told me that the doctors from Anatoray are going to do something terrible to you. If we stay here, you'll be in great danger."

A moment passed. Dio stood near his bedroom door, tears forming in his crystalline eyes. "What…what are they going to do?" he asked, his voice a soft whisper. While he wanted to know, it seemed that he did not want to hear it at the same time. If I was in his position, I would have acted the same way.

Really, I did not want to tell him just yet, but I knew that if I wanted him to be safe, he had to know why he was in danger. "The Anatorayans have found some kind of cure for your condition— "

"Well, but that's a good thing!"

"No, it's not. Let me finish. Ressius told me that they will remove the frontal lobe of your brain. While I'm not exactly sure what will happen to you after that, I know it won't be good." Dio wanted to interrupt me, so I had to put my hand up to silence him. He had to know what was going on.

The prince stared at me in disbelief for a little under a minute. The tears that had formed were now falling freely. I wanted him to say something; anything would do. As he lowered his gaze to the floor, I realized that words were not needed.

A friend was.

I stepped closer to him, cautiously. Then, without bothering to ask his permission, I embraced him. He put his arms around me and sobbed into my chest. Although I did not do it, I, too, felt like crying.

We remained like that for quite a while. Once Dio finally calmed down, he went back into his room and appeared a few minutes later. He wore a white uniform identical to mine and carried a small, white bag, which contained his medicine, among a few other items. "I've got enough to last me two months," he stated, "Let's go."

The sun was rising as we reached the glass doors of the palace. People would be out and about any second. My mind raced, trying to find a solution. We could not just run, because the guards, like Cicada, were much faster than both of us. Dio also seemed to realize this. He tapped my shoulder and silently motioned for me to follow him. Since I did not want to create any unnecessary noise, I simply nodded and began following.

It should have been obvious that Dio, of all people, knew ways to get out of the palace. The fact that he had not run away before now surprised me very much. We walked to the right of the glass doors, staying close to the walls. Finally, we stopped when we reached a small grate. To the eye, it looked completely normal, but when Dio took it out of its spot, I saw that it led to a stair case. I heaved a sigh of relief; this was going to make everything much easier.

We hurried into the passage way and I replaced the grate before we continued. Although it was difficult to see, Dio took hold of my hand and the two of us ran into darkness.

The corridor we arrived in was dimly lit by weak gas lamps. It smelled heavily of mold and freezing water dripped from the low ceiling. At least now I could see. Dio stopped for a moment and turned back to face me. The corridor was so narrow that we could not stand next to each other. He smiled at me and let go of my hand, which he had been holding the entire way down. "I'm glad that we decided to do this," he whispered.

"As am I," I said, "But we're not out yet. Let's keep going."

Dio nodded and turned back around. I wondered if he was as nervous as I was, or if he thought of it as a fun game. Either way, we went through the corridor as fast as we could.

It took us twenty minutes to reach another grate. Through its tiny holes, I could see daylight. Dio removed the grate and climbed out, I followed suit. Luckily, no guards were present. We were near the main entrance so we would have yet another wall to climb. "Why don't we just use the stairs?" Dio asked, pointing over at the stair case that led up to the main entrance of the palace.

I was about to protest, but then I remembered that practically no one knew he existed. "I guess that would be all right," I replied with a shrug. Before anything else could be said, Dio started off down the stairs. I assumed that he could not wait to be free.

Once we reached the bottom, we met two suspicious guards. "Why are you two leaving the palace?" one asked.

I answered before Dio could. "The Maestro has asked us to make an inquiry concerning immigration at the train station." I said. It was the best thing I could come up with and I prayed that it worked.

The guard that had spoken frowned. "What are your names?" he questioned.

We did not have time for this. "Must we tell you everything? The Maestro has said that our names are to remain anonymous." I said and strode past them, Dio close behind. Both of the guards were too baffled to say anything else.

As we entered the city, Dio smiled at me. "Luciola, you were amazing back there! I didn't know you could boss those guards around like that," he exclaimed.

I shook my head. "I can't, sir. I just acted as though I could. One does not have to be important to act important."

Dio laughed and I thought that now, things really would get better.

All we had to do now; was catch the train to any other country…which was not going to be so easy.

(End of chapter eight! Chapter nine is well on its way to being done, and there are some new characters in it; Godwin and Gale. Also, in case any of you forgot, since this fic is alternate universe, Dio is 16 and Luciola is 22.)


	10. The Train

Elaclea Electronic

(Oh my god, it's been forever and a day since I posted! ; Sorry everybody! I've gotten a lot of this done on paper; I just haven't had time to type it. Anyway, for those of you reading Perpetual Motion Machine, the next chapter of that is on its way as well. ; I'll try to be more efficient now that I don't have much going on until May…By that time, this story will be over.

Here's the next chapter!)

Chapter Nine: The Train

It was strange to me that Dio had never seen the city before. I am not sure why, but I had been certain that he would have gone out at least once before. The way he stared around, his eyes wide open, made me think of how I acted when I first went there. Although he did not say anything to me, I had a feeling that I knew what he was thinking.

Dio was enjoying himself, but I did not have time to be a sight-seer. I had to make sure that neither of us attracted too much attention. Luckily, Dio's hair covered his tattoo that marked him as a noble. If it had not, then we would have had a lot more trouble than I would have liked. Nevertheless, we made it safely to the train station. Of course, that was where the trouble began.

We entered to find that all the trains, save one headed to Disith, were delayed for five hours. Since we had no definite destination in mind, we hurried to the ticket counter and purchased two of the three remaining tickets.

"Luciola, can you speak Disithan?" Dio asked as we went to our assigned area.

"I know more of it than I know of Anatorayan. Besides, this way, it may be harder for people to find us." I replied, glancing at a near by clock. While I knew the language, I really had no idea what to expect once we arrived there. The actual culture was entirely unknown to me. This was going to be a difficult experience for both of us.

A mix of Guilders and foreigners sat on benches, waiting for the train to arrive. Dio and I took the only two empty seats left, which was next to the biggest, hairiest man I'd ever seen. He seemed to be friends with the bald Guilder next to him. At first, I guessed that he was from Disith, but when he and the Guilder began speaking Anatorayan, it was apparent that I was wrong.

Right as Dio was about to say something, the big man tapped my shoulder. "My friend was wondering what region of the Guild you're from," he said in Guilder, which surprised me, "He said that you've got eyes like he'd never seen." The fact that he could speak our language amazed me. Guilder was the most difficult language to learn in all of Prestale.

I glanced over at Dio, who obviously wanted me to talk to him. Somewhat nervously, I turned back to the stranger. "I am from the north, sir. My friend grew up in this city." I said to him, trying not to speak too fast.

The foreigner said something to the Guilder in Anatorayan. After that, the Guilder leaned forward so that he could see us. "Oh, I'm from the North Province also. My name's Gale," he said and then nodded toward the Anatorayan, "This is Godwin. We're heading to Disith to help out with the construction of a new railroad." They seemed quite friendly.

Dio also wanted to be a part of the conversation. "My name's Dio, and his name's Luciola!" he exclaimed happily. I was relieved that he did not tell them why we were leaving. Even if he had, I got the feeling that they would not have reported us.

"Nice to meet you both," I said, my nervousness ebbing away. The rest of the time we spent waiting for the train was very nice. Dio and I talked with Godwin and Gale the entire time, mostly about Disith and what it was like there. They told us that it was always freezing, so I thought that we should have worn warmer clothes. It was too late to turn back now…Delphine may already have discovered we were missing.

When the train arrived, we went on and sat down in an empty car. Godwin and Gale came with us. I'm not sure why, but they gave me an odd feeling of security. As the train started, a guard walked through and checked our tickets. He paused for a moment when he came to us, which made me incredibly uncomfortable. If he noticed something suspicious, we would all be in trouble. By some stroke of luck, he nodded curtly and left the car.

Just as the door slid shut, Gale decided to strike up a conversation. "So, why're you and Dio going to Disith?" he inquired.

It seemed that our luck ran out. Of course, this was by no means, the worst thing that could happen, but I had not planned on this situation at all. Since nothing good ever lasted forever, I could not reply in time, and Dio just spouted the truth.

"Luciola and I are running away from the Maestro!" he exclaimed, ignorant to the fact that the car may be bugged. I felt a cold flush wash over me. The least I could hope for was the Dio could announce that he was kidding, or perhaps Gale and Godwin would not believe him.

My hopes, unfortunately, were dashed. The two of them exchanged shocked glances and then stared at us with wide eyes. "You two are either crazy or very brave…" Gale said, shaking his head. I had to agree with the first option; to run away from the Maestro was sheer lunacy. However, we did not have another choice. As you know, if we remained at the palace, Dio would have been dealt a cruel fate.

Gale was still surprised, but Godwin seemed to find the situation exciting. He laughed, nodded, and clapped me on the back. I did not understand his bizarre behavior. "You two would be in a world of trouble if you got caught," he stated, "That's why I'm gonna offer you our help…" It seemed our luck had returned! "There's one condition, though."

"What's that?" I asked. Whatever it was, I knew that Dio and I would try our hardest to meet it. Of course, I hoped that the catch was not something that might put us in even more danger.

Godwin said that Gale would reveal what it was. "All I want to know is why you two are on the run. What did you do to make Maestro Delphine angry?" Gale asked his voice low. I should have known that they would be curious about that.

With no other choice but to oblige them, I began to tell them our story. Dio occasionally piped in with his own comments. Gale and Godwin listened intently, not once interrupting with questions. Although I thought they might find some reason why Dio and I should have stayed, at the end, they stated that they both agreed with me.

Honestly, I had no idea that the train ride would take so long. By the time that it hissed to a stop, the sun had been gone for hours. Dio ended up falling asleep, but I stayed awake the entire time. I suppose the thought of being caught still frightened me. That was still a possibility because most of the Guilders that were on the train were loyal to the Maestro.

When it was time to exit the train, I nudged Dio until he awakened. He rubbed his eyes and smiled at me. "Are we in Disith now?" he asked, stifling a yawn. I realized then, that I was fairly tired as well. Long trips tend to have a soporific affect on people.

I nodded. "We've just arrived, sir." I said. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gale and Godwin rise from their seats. With that, I found myself wondering where Dio and I would go. Neither of us had much money and we did not know anything about anything when it came to Disith. I began to think that we may end up returning to the Guild after all.

Godwin and Gale had been conversing in Anatorayan for about an hour during the trip. As I stood up, Godwin looked at me, that grin still on his face, and asked me something I had never expected. "Do you and Dio want to stay with me an' Gale? I'm assumin' that you guys haven't made living arrangements and all…" His generosity surprised me very much. What little I heard from others about foreigners, was that they were all incredibly stupid and rude…But these two were the exact opposite of that stereotype.

Dio jumped up, a brilliant smile on his pale face. "Can we really!" he chimed, obviously as surprised as I was. Since he was of noble lineage, I guessed that he knew more of those stereotypes than I did.

Godwin laughed and nodded. It looked like we would not have to go back…ever again. We left that train station, thinking we would never hear of Delphine and those doctors anymore.

It was a nice thought, but it was not true.


	11. The Wanted Ad

Elaclea Electronic

(Ack, it's been forever and a day since I last updated this! XD Oh well. Just about three more chapters to put up, and then it's all over. Whoo hoo. So, here's the next chapter.)

Chapter Ten: The Wanted Ad

Dunya lowered her glass of water and placed it on the table next to the chair she sat in. She had been recording Luciola's story for hours and found it all incredibly interesting. Now, though, he paused. Had he decided to stop relating it to her? "Um, sir, won't you go on?" she asked, switching off her new-fangled recorder.

Luciola sighed and rubbed his forehead. Since he started, he knew that he had to continue. With a slow nod, he replied, "Yes, but I will not go into every detail…Dio and I lived with Gale and Godwin for seven years. During that time, we were able to purchase medicine at a local hospital for Dio's condition.

"Due to the fact that I cannot recall absolutely everything, I will continue as I have, and simply tell you of moments that are important to me." Some of this would be hard for him to speak about; he knew. A handful of these memories were so terrible, he never spoke of them before to anyone.

Life in Disith was much different than life in the palace. The four of us shared an apartment not far from where Gale and Godwin worked. They were helping construct a railroad that would connect Disith with Anatoray. We often met friends of theirs, who were all interested in our story. Of course, while I was apprehensive about telling them, Dio spoke of it as if it were an exciting novel.

One young man I remember in particular, was an Anatorayan named Claus Valca. He was always with a girl by the name of Lavie, I believe, and the two of them were researching a new idea of transportation; flight. It seemed a little far-fetched to me, but Dio thought it was brilliant. He spent much of his time with them, watching their experiments and giving his own input.

Dio took a great liking to Claus. He always told me that "Immelmann" reminded him of people he read about in such and such story. This nick-name for Claus came from an epic written by a Guilder hundreds of years before our time. I barely remember what it was about. I felt no jealousy toward Claus. My confused feelings about Dio vanished when we moved to Disith. He was simply a friend and nothing more.

One day, I distinctly remember. We had been living there for almost seven years to the day. I sat outside, waiting for Dio to return from Claus and Lavie's home. I could see Godwin coming toward me…he was coming home early. A little girl with blonde hair, wearing a grey dress, walked with him. She stared at me with large, sky blue eyes. I wondered who she was.

Godwin stopped walking when he got close enough to me. "Hey, Luciola," he said and motioned to the little girl, "This is my niece, Alvis Hamilton. She's come to visit for a while." I thought it was strange that parents would send their little girl to stay with a bunch of railroad workers but I knew little of foreign culture.

"How do you do, Miss Hamilton," I greeted, bowing my head a bit.

Alvis gave me a shy nod in return; her big, pale eyes still staring at me. "He-hello," she said softly. Like all children. She had a certain apprehension toward meeting new, older people.

Godwin flashed one of his characteristic smiles and then gave me a slightly confused look. "Where's Dio?" he asked, "Isn't he always with you?" I have come to find that "always" is a word that other cultures use in many different ways. While I was with Dio much of the time, I certainly was not "always" with him. We both had our own business and our own lives…Even when he and I lived in the palace, I was not in his shadow every moment.

Instead of speaking my true thoughts, I simply said, "He is with Claus and Lavie. I am waiting for him." 'Waiting' was a bit of an understatement; Dio was supposed to be back half an hour ago. I began to think that he enjoyed Claus and Lavie's presence more than mine. That should have been obvious though. After all, they must have been more enjoyable to talk with.

A slight frown crossed Godwin's face for a second, but before he could say anything, I saw Dio coming in the distance. Claus was with him. When they came closer, I noticed that Dio walked a bit slower than he normally did. I began to wonder about what might be wrong…The closer they came, the more anxious I became. Finally, I could take it no longer, so I ran over to them.

Dio's face was practically white and he seemed more frightened than ever before. He clutched a crumpled piece of paper in his shaking hands. What could this mean?

"L-Luciola," the prince began as he opened the paper for me to see, "They know we're here! Look! Look at this! Delphine is offering a reward!" It was true; the paper was a wanted ad with both our faces on it. Apparently, she wanted us badly…the reward was for over 100,000 claudia.

My mind went blank, as it had a tendency to do when I became stressed. At first, I told myself that it was not real…No one should think to search for us in Disith. But then I realized that it was happening and that there was nothing either of us could do about it. Also, it was foolish of me to think that Delphine would only search in Anatoray.

Claus, thankfully, did not ask us what it was about. Instead, he went to Godwin and began explaining why Dio was so upset. Meanwhile, I saw Dio throw the ad to the dusty ground. Tears fell freely from his crystal eyes. "What should we do?" he whispered. I told him that I did not know, but I pulled him into an embrace anyway.

I wished that I could have expressed myself as freely as he did. While he had lived such a sheltered life, compared to the rest of us, he was the most unafraid to be himself.

Later that same day, we all sat around the table in the kitchen of Godwin's home. No one wanted to talk about the paper, which had actually been discovered by Claus that morning. Instead, Alvis told us about her trip all the way from Anatoray. Unfortunately, I barely understood her language, but I could not concentrate anyway.

Dio was not paying attention either. His face was blank, which was something I had never seen on him before. As much as I wanted there to be some kind of solution, we could not run anywhere else. I was certain that all the train stations were being patrolled.

Just as Alvis concluded her story, there was a soft knock at the door. Godwin stood up and opened it. I felt a pang of nervousness until I saw who it was; Claus's friend, Lavie. She was carrying a brown, paper bag and looked fairly pleased with herself, as she always did.

Godwin grinned. "Hey, Lavie. How're you?" he asked as he let her inside.

"I'm doing great! I heard that Alvis was coming, so I picked up some treats to celebrate," she replied and placed the bag on the table. Alvis smiled and left her seat so she could stand next to Lavie.

Before anyone could ask what was in the bag, Lavie ripped it open and let its contents roll out onto the table.

…They were oranges.

Dio's eyes widened and I could see him wringing his hands nervously under the table. He had only acted this way once before; right before he had that seizure in the palace. This time, it was slightly different…But why did he just randomly have them like that?

Everyone's eyes were on Dio, but no one said a word. The prince rose from his chair and shrieked. He was staring at the oranges as though they were huge, terrifying spiders.

(whoo! Only two more chapters to go! )


	12. Emotional Lows and Highs

Elaclea Electronic

(Well, here is the second to last chapter! But don't worry; there are more Last Exile fan fics on the way…So, here we go! (short note, isn't it?) )

Chapter Eleven: Emotional Lows and Highs

Godwin and the others were obviously concerned. Claus rushed over to Dio and tried to help him, which only made everything worse. One thing I learned from Ressius was to not interfere with the seizures. "Dio, what's wrong? Calm down!" Claus exclaimed, grabbing his shoulders. Dio was deaf to Claus's pleas. He pushed him away and ran out of the room. Claus was about to go after him, but I stopped him.

This was my duty; not anyone else's and it was time that Claus realized that. "Let me handle this, please." I said and went after Dio. He had gone outside, to the backyard, and had fallen to the ground. I followed him and waited for him to come out of the seizure. Minutes passed and he continued writhing. I wanted desperately to help him, but I knew there was nothing I could do. A profound sense of helplessness struck me as I watched him.

Finally, it was over. Dio lay unmoving, breathing long and slow. I knelt down next to him, careful not to be a disturbance. "Dio, sir, are you all right now?" I asked my voice low. I was relieved that no one else came out after us. More people would just make him even more uncomfortable.

Dio's eyes fluttered open and he looked over to me, a bewildered expression on his pale face. "Did I have a seizure?" he whispered. Normally, when he had one, he was entirely unaware of what happened.

I nodded slowly, almost reluctantly. This seizure made me begin to think that Dio may have an intense phobia of something I never would have expected; anything in the color orange. As I thought about it, I remembered that he had a seizure when he first saw Empress Sophia's orange dress so long ago. "Sir, can you tell me why you are so afraid of the color orange?" I inquired. If he told me, maybe we could really eliminate the seizures forever. But, already, I knew that this would not be an easy subject for him to discuss.

Dio sat up and glanced around, as if he wanted to make sure no one was eavesdropping on us. Before he voiced his reply, he scooted closer to me. It was as if what he had to say would be so terrible that even he was afraid to tell it. "Luciola…the only people that know about it are me, Delphine, and Ressius," he whispered, "They made me swear not to tell anyone, but since neither of them are here, I think that I should tell you about it." At the end of every sentence, he hesitated.

My mouth was dry, but I wanted to swallow. I felt the same way I had when Ressius told me about Dio's condition so many years ago. "Don't be afraid. You can tell me anything." I said. No matter what the problem was, I would save him from it. I was determined to keep him away from harm forever.

Silence hung thick in the air as I waited for his reply. Dio frowned nervously and twirled his straight hair around his long fingers. His eyes could not settle on anything; they darted around, full of uncertainty. "Do you remember…a long time ago…when the Guild went to war with Anatoray?" he asked.

I merely nodded. That time was a bloody period that no one wanted to even talk about. Although I had been fairly young then, I can still remember hearing the screams of soldiers and innocents as they were massacred.

"Well…The palace was under attack and my mother told me to run and hide with Delphine. Delphine said that we should go hide in the orchard, which was where that rose garden is now. The orchard was full of orange trees. I followed her out there, but then Delphine tricked me and ran way. I called out for her, but she didn't come back. I started hearing voices—I thought they were Guilders, but I was wrong. Anatorayan soldiers were in the orchard too! As soon as one of them spotted me, I tried to run away, but he…he grabbed me and dragged me away from the palace. I was…I was so scared…That man did terrible things to me…He…he ripped off my clothes…and…" Dio was practically hysterical. I wanted to offer him comfort, but I had no idea what to say or do.

"N-now…whenever I see orange, I think about that…and it makes me feel like I felt back then! So much pain…I try not to think about it, but I can't help it…"

I was speechless. That was not what I had been expecting, although I'm not even sure what I was expecting. Finally, words came to me. "Dio, I'm so sorry…I wish there was something I could do to help you forget about that…" I said, "No one should ever have to experience such an awful thing."

A small smile spread on Dio's face. His sadness was ebbing away already. He jumped on top of me and hugged me…and I knew that no matter what, Dio and I would always be there for one another.

That night I thought the house was unusually quiet. Gale, Godwin, and Alvis had gone off to some newly opened amusement park. They offered to take us with them, but Dio did not want to go. We stayed in the house and Dio fell asleep earlier than he normally did. I stayed awake a little while longer, just watching him…He was so fragile…and in the moonlight, he looked like a porcelain doll. When I finally went to sleep, I could hear Godwin and the others coming into the house. Aside from the sounds the door made, the house was silent.

As I drifted off, I had no idea that it was going to be the last night we really shared together.

Sunlight shined in thin rays through the window as I woke up the next morning. I sat up slowly and rubbed my eyes. Once I felt awake, I glanced over at Dio's bed, which was empty. He always was an early riser. I slid onto the floor and got dressed. As I walked out of the room, I noticed that the house was yet again, empty. I frowned and walked into the kitchen. No one was in there…I began to feel a little nervous as I searched the rest of the house. For a moment, I thought they had gone somewhere, but then…why would they leave me?

It was then that I saw Dio outside the window, talking with Gale. Relief washed over me and right as I opened the door, Gale walked away from Dio. The prince turned and smiled at me.

"Good morning, Luciola!" he exclaimed and ran over to me, "It's a nice day today, isn't it?" A big smile formed on his face and I felt like smiling too, and had I not been trained to conceal my emotions, I would have.

Suddenly, I heard the door open behind me and before I could even turn around and see who it was, Dio let out a blood curdling scream and everything went black.

(Whoa! Short chapter! ; I didn't realize this one was so SHORT. Oh well. The last one is longer. See you at the end!)


	13. Fading Light

Elaclea Electronic

(Whoa! It's the final chapter! Please see the end for a longer note. )

Chapter Twelve: Fading Light

"I remember you saying years ago that Luciola could be trusted. This is, of course, not much of a surprise though. I knew all along he helped that brat run away." It was a woman's voice…A voice I hadn't heard in years…

Delphine's.

I forced my eyes open and as my vision cleared, I saw that I was in a small, dark room. I saw Delphine…and my brother, Cicada. Seeing them made me unable to think. I tried to move, but my arms had been bound behind my back.

Cicada glared at me, his eyes full of venomous hatred. "Your majesty, he is awake now," he said. I wondered what would happen to me…and I wondered about what was already happening to Dio. If my prediction was correct, then he was undergoing that terrible operation.

The Maestro forgot her anger at Cicada and strolled over to me. It was obvious that she had gone through a lot of stress in the past years. Her beauty was already beginning to fade at such a young age. She grabbed my neck and forced me to look at her. Delphine stared at me like she might look at a cockroach she was about to kill. "I bet you think that you're some kind of hero or something," she spat, "Well, let me tell you that you're going to be executed tomorrow morning…Tonight, however, I have a special treat for you."

I could not even fathom the horror that awaited me. At first, I thought I would be tortured, but what was actually in store was much worse, to me. Instead of making some kind of rebellious remark, which she was probably expecting, I stayed quiet. This only seemed to add to the intensity of her anger.

Delphine's eyes narrowed, her violet irises glinting in the dim light. She released her grip on my neck and raised her gloved hand above her head. Before I could blink, she backhanded me across my face. I did not even think about the pain; the memory of when Dio did that flashed in my mind. In some ways, the Elaclea siblings were more alike than they probably realized.

"Cicada, bring Luciola to the operating room. Everything should be ready by now," said the Maestro as she sauntered out of the room.

My brother gave me a short glare as he pulled me to my feet. He was silent as we left the unknown, cramped room. We were in a long hall way now and I still had no idea where I actually was. As Cicada led me through the corridor, I thought of nothing; not of Dio, not of Delphine, not even of the fact that Gale and Godwin had turned us in for the huge reward that was being offered. Yes, that angered me, but somehow, I figured that I should have known it would happen eventually.

Luckily for them, I never saw them again.

At the end of the hall was a short staircase which led to a large, steel door. I had a feeling that I knew what was behind it already. Cicada opened the door and revealed the very thing I had been dreading for so long; the operating room.

It was then that Delphine's intentions became clear. She was going to force me to witness Dio's lobotomy.

The operating room was a large, round area with garish, bright lights. It was filled with odd and foreign objects that were all put there for cruel reasons. A group of Anatorayan doctors stood huddled around a metal bed. On that bed, was the only friend I ever knew.

Dio, the prince of the Guild, lay heavily sedated, entirely unaware of what was about to happen. As I stared at him, my legs began to feel weak. Never in my life had I felt such strong emotions. Even now, I can not begin to explain the surge I felt. Although the operation had not yet started, Dio already seemed different. His skin was a sickly pallor; his gold tattoos seemed to glow. His bangs had been shaved off to make the procedure easier for the doctors. Seeing him like this made it feel as if the entire room was spinning out of control.

Delphine sat down on the only metal chair in the room. An impatient expression was etched across her evil face. Cicada remained next to me to make sure that I did not try any crazy heroics. I wanted to scream or just try to convince them that what they were doing was ludicrous. Unfortunately, I knew that whatever I said would just be ignored.

One of the doctors said something but it was in Anatorayan of course, so I could not understand him. The procedure had begun.

Everything after that is a blur to me. I remember that I could not control myself any longer. I shouted and tried to break free of my bonds, but it was useless. Cicada punched me in the stomach and I doubled over. When I tried to get back up, Cicada planted his foot firmly on my face and told me to stay put, or I'd be dead a day sooner.

Strangely enough, the procedure did not last more than twenty minutes. I glimpsed Dio being taken out of the room, but that was the last time I saw him for many, many years. I wanted so badly to see him and to hear his voice, but there was nothing I could do…I could not go after him.

The day of my execution came and went. Cicada had apparently convinced Delphine that there was no point in killing me and so I moved back to Disith. I'll never understand why he convinced her to spare me because Cicada broke contact with me as soon as everything had been settled.

I'm sure you know what happened to Delphine. If not, then…She ended her days at age forty with no heir. I heard she had some kind of disease, but I'm not sure what it was. All I know is that she died alone, just as she deserved. The bloody reign of the Elaclea dynasty was over…And the Guild spent seventeen years in conflict as they tried to find a new ruler.

When I turned thirty-seven, I had been living alone for quite some time. It was a rainy day in fall and I was just about to go out, when there was a soft knock on the door. I was not expecting anyone, so I was slightly curious. Upon opening the door, I was given a shock.

A young Guilder stood in the doorway and a person of great familiarity stood behind her. She bowed formally and said, "Luciola of Acae, the Maestro Delphine Elaclea has died. With no one left to care for the prince, Sir Cicada of Acae has left him in your care."

I could barely believe what I was hearing. After all these years…Words could not come to me. As if in a dream, I stepped out of the house and went over to the empty shell of a man that stood behind the girl…It really was Dio, but it was nothing like the Dio I used to know.

He sent me a blank gaze. His once bright eyes were glazed over and dull. His white hair hung limp on his shoulders and even his skin had taken on a sickly tint. He was nothing more than a walking corpse.

I was so overcome with grief and guilt that it was impossible to hold it all in. For the first time in my life, I let my emotions come out. The tears fell freely. Finally, I knew that I would no longer have to be a Guilder. That life was over. A new life with Dio was beginning.

"So…What happened after that?" Dunya asked, her voice shaky. She was unsure if there would be any more.

Luciola shrugged, regaining that placid emotion he was so used to. "What could happen? I could not afford to take care of Dio and so, after a few months, I sent him to a local hospital," he paused, "I visited him occasionally, but the grief I felt was overwhelming. To see him like that made me think of a burnt out lightbulb…"

"Is he still alive?"

The old Guilder shook his head. "No, Dio passed away two years ago. There was a small funeral…Cicada was there. I thought his appearance was strange, but he had every right to be there.

"And…even though Dio is gone, he continues, just as he always did, to light up my life."

(And so, there it is! The end! I just want to give a HUGE thank you to everybody who's stuck with this for the past few months. I had fun writing it, and so I hope you guys all enjoyed reading it! I appreciate your reviews very much.

Keep an eye out for other LE fics soon to come from me! XD Thanks again!)


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